Chester Arthur Brewer (January 14, 1907 – March 26, 1990) was an American right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

. Born in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the ...

, he played for the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1 ...

, and from

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

he scouted for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

.Chet Brewer
- Baseballbiography.com Brewer toiled on the mounds of black baseball for twenty-four years with an assortment of teams throughout the world, including China, Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and in forty-four of the forty-eight continental United States. While with the

, Brewer was a part of legendary starting rotations including

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

and Bullet Rogan. Brewer had a lively fastball and a devastating overhand "drop ball," which was especially tough on left-handed hitters. He also threw an emery ball (learned from Emory Osborne and

Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe (July 7, 1902 – August 11, 2005) was a professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. An accomplished two-way player, he played as a pitcher and a catcher, became a manager, and in his old age ...

.) when such practice was legal. Brewer's career covered a wide experiential range, including playing against major leaguers in exhibition games. In 1934 he pitched against an all-star team that included

Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red ...

and

Heinie Manush Henry Emmett Manush (July 20, 1901 – May 12, 1971), nicknamed "Heinie", was an American baseball outfielder. He played professional baseball for 20 years from 1920 to 1939, including 17 years in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers (1 ...

, and later was manager of the Kansas City Royals, who played in the California Winter League against

Bob Feller Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...

and other major leaguers. In 1945, he managed the Kansas City Royals of the California Winter League, coaching among other players a young

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color lin ...

, already destined for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

' organization. In 1952 Brewer was a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the

Porterville Comets The Porterville Comets were the last minor league baseball team that operated out of Porterville, California. They played in the Southwest International League in 1952 and were an all-black baseball team. Previously the Porterville Packers played ...

of the

Southwest International League The Southwest International League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1951 through 1952. The league was formed through the merger of the Sunset League and Arizona–Texas League in 1951. The league hosted franchises based in ...

, becoming one of the first black managers in Minor League Baseball history, as he joined

Sam Bankhead Samuel Howard Bankhead (September 18, 1910 – July 24, 1976) was an American baseball player in the Negro leagues. He played from 1931 to 1951. He also played for the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo along with Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. In 195 ...

, who a year earlier played and managed for the

Farnham Pirates The Farnham Pirates were a minor league baseball team located in Farnham, Quebec, Canada. They played in the Provincial League from 1948 to 1951. The team was managed by Sam Bankhead, who was a player-manager. He was the first black coach in M ...

of the Provincial League. At 45, Brewer posted a 6–5 record in 24 pitching appearances (seven starts), posting a 3.38 ERA for the fourth-best in the league.1952 Southwest International League Pitching Leaders
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on October 1, 2018. 1985-1990 Chet Brewer and his staff also coached Los Angeles Inner City athletes on weekends, players such as:

George Hendrick George Andrew Hendrick Jr. (born October 18, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals ...

, Ellis Valentine,

Reggie Smith Carl Reginald Smith (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and afterwards served as a coach and front office executive. He also played in the Nippon Pro ...

, infielder turned CBS Sports Broadcaster

Rich Perez Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling **Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated communi ...

and Don Newcombe’s son participated as well. Hall of Fame hopeful, Chet Brewer died at age 83 in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 census figure. Whittier was incorporated i ...

Notes and references

External links

an
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Chet 1907 births 1990 deaths African-American baseball managers Alijadores de Tampico players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Kansas Brooklyn Royal Giants players Chicago American Giants players Cleveland Buckeyes players Kansas City Monarchs players Louisville Buckeyes players Minor league baseball managers New York Cubans players Sportspeople from Leavenworth, Kansas Philadelphia Stars players Pittsburgh Crawfords players Porterville Comets players Visalia Cubs players Washington Pilots players American expatriate baseball players in Panama Carman Cardinals players American expatriate baseball players in Canada 20th-century African-American sportspeople Diablos Rojos del México players